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Serial killer commune leader found guilty of drowning woman in pool
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Pools - Tools of Killers
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Date: February 25, 2015 05:25PM
Kansas commune leader found guilty of drowning woman in pool
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A man who led a Kansas commune that collected millions of dollars in life insurance payouts from dead members was convicted of premeditated murder Wednesday in the 2003 drowning death of a female member.
Daniel Perez, 55, also was found guilty of 27 other counts, some alleging that he sexually abused minor daughters of the commune's members and devised a scheme to receive life insurance payments from members who lived on a 20-acre site in suburban Wichita known as Angels Landing.
Witnesses testified during the trial about sexual violence and the death of six people as the group wandered over 15 years into several states and Mexico before settling at the elaborate compound. Perez, who went by Lou Castro, was charged only with the death of 26-year-old Patricia Hughes, who died in the commune's pool.
For nearly a decade, Hughes' death was considered an accident. But a woman who was 12 at the time told authorities in 2011 that Hughes and Perez arranged her death so the compound could receive $1.24 million from her life insurance policy...
Authorities were told Hughes drowned after falling and becoming unconscious while trying to save her toddler daughter from the pool. The witness said in reality, Perez and Hughes got into the pool and she heard a scream and a splash. She said she was told to wait 20 minutes while Perez drove to a dealership to establish an alibi, then jump into the pool with the toddler and call 911.
Several other women testified that Perez coerced them into sex when they were minors. One said the girls were told Perez was a type of seer, and another testified that she submitted out of fear for her life and the lives of relatives. Others testified about millions of dollars in life insurance policies sold to people associated with Perez who died after naming others in the commune as beneficiaries. The witnesses said Perez directed the scheme and profited from it.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A man who led a Kansas commune that collected millions of dollars in life insurance payouts from dead members was convicted of premeditated murder Wednesday in the 2003 drowning death of a female member.
Daniel Perez, 55, also was found guilty of 27 other counts, some alleging that he sexually abused minor daughters of the commune's members and devised a scheme to receive life insurance payments from members who lived on a 20-acre site in suburban Wichita known as Angels Landing.
Witnesses testified during the trial about sexual violence and the death of six people as the group wandered over 15 years into several states and Mexico before settling at the elaborate compound. Perez, who went by Lou Castro, was charged only with the death of 26-year-old Patricia Hughes, who died in the commune's pool.
For nearly a decade, Hughes' death was considered an accident. But a woman who was 12 at the time told authorities in 2011 that Hughes and Perez arranged her death so the compound could receive $1.24 million from her life insurance policy...
Authorities were told Hughes drowned after falling and becoming unconscious while trying to save her toddler daughter from the pool. The witness said in reality, Perez and Hughes got into the pool and she heard a scream and a splash. She said she was told to wait 20 minutes while Perez drove to a dealership to establish an alibi, then jump into the pool with the toddler and call 911.
Several other women testified that Perez coerced them into sex when they were minors. One said the girls were told Perez was a type of seer, and another testified that she submitted out of fear for her life and the lives of relatives. Others testified about millions of dollars in life insurance policies sold to people associated with Perez who died after naming others in the commune as beneficiaries. The witnesses said Perez directed the scheme and profited from it.